The National Worship Leader Conference (NWLC) held every year in Leawood, KS is a sight to behold. It really is an off-the-chain modern worship “concentrate.” Many of the big name Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) industry artists and leaders are there with bells on, and the multitudinous breakout sessions range from the pragmatic to the philosophical. It’s a wonderful place to get immersed in this world, to learn much about it, and to bounce thoughts off it. I spent much of … Read More
Debunking a C. S. Lewis Quote-Myth and its Implications for Worship
Thank God. Matt Anderson over at Mere Orthodoxy has dismantled the quote-myth falsely attributed to C. S. Lewis. I’ve always been uncomfortable with it, and I’ve wondered why he said it. I’m glad he didn’t. The quote goes: You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. Anderson says that the quote actually belongs to George MacDonald, one of the people Lewis appreciated. Read the full post. What’s the problem with this quote? It swings the … Read More
Worship as the Antidote to Postmodernism
Some out there don’t think that postmodernism needs an antidote, for that would imply that something’s wrong with it. I happen to think that almost every “ism” needs a check. Many writers and thinkers on postmodernism point out the fragmentation that occurs in a culture of postmodernity. Common belief-structures are no longer shared in large quanities among the masses, and the truth that once glued us together, as both whole individuals and whole communities, is no longer present (existentially speaking). The resulting postmodernity is a fragmented culture and fragmented persons.
Why We Need the Call to Worship
In our weekly printed bulletins, we have a sidebar column that acts as a commentary and explanation for what we do in our services. This “Worship Notes” section contains short paragraphs on the significance of various elements of our worship. We explain everything from the meaning and origin of the Doxology, to why we preach sermons, to the significance of the Lord’s Supper, to backgrounds on the songs we sing. Here are four worship notes on the Call to Worship–the beginning of the service where we hear God’s summons to gather and praise His name.
Why We Choose to Still Print Bulletins in a Green World
It’s common in our day and age to get our chops busted when we waste paper. More and more, organizations are pushing toward a paperless work environment. Besides cutting down printing and hard material costs, it’s obviously better for the environment. Churches use this same reasoning to advocate for worship services which are more projection-and-screen-based. If they print anything for their service-goers, it’s often a simple half-sheet piece of paper. Some, I have heard, even allow you to view the … Read More
Nostalgic Worship Disorder and Getting Worship My Way
The Curious Case of Two Worshipers… Ethyl, the “Old Timey Hymns” Lady Ethyl is now an old woman who just wants to get back to that “old time religion.” She tears up every time she hears the swell of that honky oohm-pah-pah organ rhythm that accompanies her favorite hymn, “In the Garden.” She remembers when she first heard the song back when she became a believer in the 1940s. She remembers the good ol’ days when she and the other … Read More
How Passive Worshipers Become More Active
Contemporary worship has been criticized over and over again for its ability to form spectators, but I’ve actually witnessed passive worship all across the stylistic spectrum. (I see it at my church every Sunday in BOTH of our services, one of which is “traditional” and the other our version of “contemporary.”) Worshipers, sitting or standing with blank looks on their faces with little to no movement of their bodies, stare bored at the leadership, screen, bulletin, or song-sheet.
One Simple Reason Why the Ascension is Important
Ascension, Stained Glass Panel (Gothic), Germany, 14th c.Today is what more “liturgically”-oriented Christians in the Western tradition call “The Ascension of our Lord.” Why do we give a special day to that event that seems nothing more than Jesus’ travel plans between earth and heaven. Earth is important. Heaven is important. But the flight in between?
Worship is Where the Church Tries on Her Bridal Garment
Worship forms trajectory. If we are a people “in the world, not of the world”; if we are pilgrims and sojourners; if this world is not our home; if we are a people whose perpetual cry is “come, Lord Jesus,” then worship is one of the chief contexts in which we’re reminded of that. To put this in theological terms, worship is supposed to be intensely eschatological. I often mention that worship is one of the chief contexts in which … Read More
Why the Tension Exists Between Private and Public Worship
I experienced a real “aha” moment recently when reading Jean-Jacques von Allmen’s fabulous work, Worship: Its Theology and Practice. Sometimes I find that, in discussing the concept of worship with thoughtful folks in the church, we’re talking past each other with what we mean by “worship.” One person is referring to whole-life worship while the other is talking about gathered, corporate worship. And there certainly is a tension between these two realities. On the one hand, the concept of whole-life … Read More